


In Her Shoes

by Fede_Green



Series: In Their Shoes [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Attempt at Humor, M/M, Percico - Freeform, Percy is turned into a girl by Eros, Relationship Issues, Sequel to my previous fic "In His Shoes", Set two years after BoO events, Spoilers from the series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-09-03
Packaged: 2018-08-10 19:50:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7858843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fede_Green/pseuds/Fede_Green
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Having already pissed Eros in the past, Percy Jackson had thought that living in his boyfriend's body had been the weirdest thing ever happened to him. Godly revenges could be cruel in a certain original way, after all.</p><p>But Percy had never learned much from his mistakes. In fact, he also had thought nothing worse could have ever happened to him. He was wrong.</p><p>How in Poseidon was he supposed to get his body back? <em>Again?</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Few Bad News

**Author's Note:**

> Helloooooooo everybody! Long time no see, uh?  
> Do you remember me saying "oh _hell_ no, I'm not writing a sequel to In His Shoes, like, ever"? Do you? 'Cause I do. Well, I've never been trustworthy.
> 
> So here we go with Percy being a girl.
> 
> WARNINGS:  
> \- English is NOT my first language;  
> \- Sexual orientation issues. Nico is having some in this, 'cause he's fairly gay and his boyfriend turned into a girl. Let's give him some time.  
> Enjoy *-*

Percy felt a tiny drop of sweat streaming down his neck and then in his t-shirt. He was trying his best not to fall unconscious on the floor for the insanely hot weather of New York City during Summer, but it wasn't like he had any other choice.

The mission had to be accomplished as soon as possible. Maybe there weren't lives depending on it, but Percy's sense of responsibility was hard to fight. So, with the help of his best friend Jason, he was convinced he could have brought that mission to an end.

They had to. At all costs.

“What about this one?”

Percy's thoughts were interrupted by Jason's voice, calling him back to reality. Percy sighed thoroughly and heavily, and then turned around to look at what Jason was showing him. “No. I hate that colour,” he said, crossing his arms on his chest to highlight the point.

Jason frowned in confusion. “But it's orange. Like Camp Half-Blood t-shirts! Listen, I do not know how _these things_ work, but if you match them with-”

“Hell no, Jay! I'm not wearing an _orange_ bra. There's no fucking way I'm doing it. _Ever_.” Percy sighed in frustration for the millionth time that day. “This is a hopeless case. I'll keep wearing the bra Rachel gave me until I destroy it, and that's it. I don't care.”

“But that's a different size... it is too _small_.” Jason tried to hold a chuckle. “You showed me, Percy. It was nice and a really huge demonstration of trust, but I can assure you that bra is _too little._ ”

Percy raised an eyebrow at him mockingly. “It was _nice_?”

Putting the orange bra back on the hanger, Jason blushed heavily. “Um. Anyway. Why didn't you bring Annabeth with you to do this? I feel weird in here, I have to admit.”

In response to those words, Percy grabbed Jason's arm and dragged him outside the store, rolling his eyes in exasperation. Once in the chaos of street full of people, with the sun hitting their eyes, they began walking towards the first entry to the subway. Some guys were turning around to wink at him or smile mischievously, but after two weeks of that nightmare Percy had gotten used to it. Maybe.

“I couldn't bring her with me to buy _bras_. For fuck's sake, I'm her... _girl_ ex-boyfriend, damn, don't you realise how weird it is?!” Percy approached the panel with the coloured subway lines, trying to find the shortest one to reach the Upper East Side. No matter how long he had lived in New York City, he always had to make sure about which line to take.

Jason followed Percy down the stairs and on the train, taking a seat next to him on the left side of the wagon. His biggest fear was to get lost in that damn city; he didn't want to lose sight of him. “So, your plan was to ask _me_? A straight eighteen year old guy who has no idea of how bras work?”

Percy chuckled, but his smile soon faded when he noticed that a weird man was staring at him and licking his lips unequivocally. He grabbed Jason's arm and hand, tangling their fingers together. “I thought there was nothing worse than monsters or giants or titans. I was wrong,” he whispered to his friend's ear. “And by the way, _yes_. Better you than my actual boyfriend or my ex-girlfriend.”

“Fine,” Jason sighed thoroughly, sending killing stares to the man who was bothering Percy. The man coughed awkwardly and pretended to be looking at his phone, making Jason proud of his intimidation skills. He took a mental note to thank his father Jupiter for that, later. “What about your mom?”

Percy didn't answer. He limited himself to look at Jason deeply in the eyes, waiting for his friend to realise the absurdity of what he had just said.

Jason scratched his forehead seconds later. “Got it.”

“Mom is so shocked about all this, already. There's no way I'll ask her for... you know, anything that has to do with me being a _girl_.” Percy loosened his grip around Jason's hand and stood up, making him sign that they had to get off the train. “By the way, I think she made us hot dogs for lunch!”

After walking past a few blocks, the boys finally reached Percy's apartment in the Upper East Side. Jason still couldn't get used to the frenzy of the city. San Francisco also was a huge and chaotic place to be, but nothing came close to Manhattan.

Percy rang at the intercom and, after a few seconds, the voice of Sally Jackson echoed in the small hidden street. “Who is it?”

“It's me, mom. Open the door.” Percy grabbed the door-handle, waiting to hear the 'click' of the door opening.

“... Percy? Oh gods, I'll never get used to this voice of yours.”

Jason chuckled, and the front door immediately opened. Rolling his eyes, Percy made him sign to follow him up the stairs. As soon as they reached the door of Percy's apartment, he noticed that Sally was already there and waiting for them. She was wiping her hands on a rag, a big smile printed on her face.

“I made you hot dogs, guys. Well, guys and _gals_.” Sally raised an eyebrow with amusement. “Oh, and we have a guest.”

Percy stopped walking in the middle of the corridor and, as Jason entered the kitchen, he turned around with a questioning look. “A guest?”

Sally smiled and approached him, looking at him intensely before speaking. She stroked Percy's long hair with affection. It was silky and particularly curly, just like hers. The woman didn't want to admit it openly, but she had always wanted a daughter. Obviously enough, she loved Percy with all her heart and soul, and the fact that he was temporarily a girl wasn't going to change anything between them. It was an intriguing challenge. “There's your boyfriend, darling. I think he's got news for us.”

Percy's eyes sparkled, and Sally was happy _those_ hadn't changed. Not even a bit. “Wonderful!” He went straight to the kitchen, where he found Jason chatting with his boyfriend: Nico di Angelo.

The son of Hades turned around as soon as he heard the sound of Percy's steps in the room. He smiled, standing up and reaching him. Percy wrapped his arms around his waist, and Nico finally decided to say something. “This is still fucking weird.”

“I know,” Percy rolled his eyes. He used to do that a real lot, lately. “But I'm still taller than you.” He kissed him quickly on the lips, and Nico frowned almost imperceptibly.

Percy wanted to sigh enormously. The umpteenth thing he hated about that situation? Nico and him were getting closer when all that disaster had happened. They had begun sleeping in the same bed, getting more intimate and confident around each other. But with him being a girl, Nico had withdrawn a little. Physically, at least. And Percy couldn't really blame him: his body had changed _way too much_ , and Nico _was_ gay. He was attracted to boys. There wasn't a way to change that. On the other hand, knowing that Percy wasn't going to be a girl forever was obviously a relief. They just had to find out how Percy was supposed to get his body back: until now, they had zero ideas.

Tiny, mere details.

They sat down around the small kitchen table while Sally began placing the dishes in front of the boys. Percy suddenly realised how hungry he was, and soon grabbed his hot dog to destroy it. “When did you arrive, love?”, he asked Nico, chewing and talking at the same time.

Nico had to hold a chuckle. At least, his boyfriend's personality hadn't changed. Not even a bit. He still was the hugest dork ever. “About thirty minutes ago. I honestly thought I was going to find you two here.”

“I lost at least four or five years of my life when I noticed that someone was standing in my living room. I had a heart attack.” Sally winked at Nico, who blushed heavily and murmured a shy apology. “Then, we had a coffee.”

Percy chuckled gaily. “Got it. Well... Jason and I went shopping in Rockefeller Center. It was a last minute decision, pushed by my desperation.” He couldn't see it, but he sure knew that Jason was snorting at him.

Sally frowned with deep confusion. “But you didn't buy a thing.”

“Yeah. I know. I didn't say I chose my shopping partner wisely,” Percy elbowed Jason teasingly, gaining a punch in the ribs, which made him hiss in pain. “Hey! That hurt!”

Nico was looking at them with a faint smile, and Percy felt guilty almost immediately. He already knew what Nico was about to say. “Why didn't you ask me to come?”

Percy stole a couple of French fries from his boyfriend's dish, bringing out his best weapon – and no, it wasn't Riptide. It was his breathtaking troublemaker smile. Not even that one had changed. “I am sorry babe, but I didn't want to bother you with, you know, panties and stuff.”

Sally almost chocked while she tried to swallow her water, but Nico didn't seem to mind. “That's what you went shopping for?”, he asked with surprise, distractedly handing a napkin to the woman.

“Um, yeah.” Percy's cheeks flushed. “Believe it or not, I have zero bras,” he tried to ignore his mum, trying to suffocate her giggles, “and so... I called him. We didn't accomplish our mission.”

“Honey,” the woman put a hand on Percy's shoulder. “I bought you something, already. It's in your room. I sincerely knew you were going to have troubles finding underwear and clothes.”

Percy sighed, kissing Sally on a cheek and smiling at her fondly. “Thank the gods you exist.”

The woman stroked his hair with affection. “Thank the gods – well, _one_ god in particular – _you_ exist. Anyway...”, she began, smiling in such a knowing way that Percy got scared. “Do you have any idea if you're, um, you know... if you're going to have _girly_ _problems_?”

Percy frowned, looking at his mom in the eyes. “Such as...?”

Sitting next to him and licking his lips distractedly, Jason couldn't hold a chuckle. “She means your period, Perce.”

Nico and Percy gasped almost at the same time and turned around towards him, but Percy was quicker to open his mouth to talk. “ _Hell no_! Didn't think of it! Do you seriously believe...?”

Jason limited himself to giggle and nod, hiding his smirk behind the glass of water. “Sorry, bro.”

The dull sound of Percy's forehead hitting the table surface echoed in the room. “Why? Why me?! What have I done? Didn't I save the world several times, already? Don't I deserve better than this?!” His voice came out slightly muffled.

Nico stroked his back to comfort him a little, and he had to struggle a real lot not to laugh. “Listen. Maybe we can solve this sooner than you think. I met dad this morning, and he told me a few things.” Suddenly, all the attention was on Nico. Percy had raised his head from the table, Jason had gone serious and Sally, who was washing a couple of dishes at the sink, began glancing behind her back to look at the boys every two seconds. “First of all, Eros is having fun telling everyone what he did to you.”

“How sweet of him,” Percy murmured to himself, struggling a lot not to snort.

“So,” Nico kept talking, “I'm afraid there's no quest or trial or anything you can do to get your body back. He did it just for fun.”

Jason raised an eyebrow sceptically, leaning against the backrest of his chair with a sigh. “I thought you had _good_ news.”

Nico shrugged with resignation. “I'm sorry. The second thing he told me is... well, this is a bit worrying. Hades is not sure your powers will remain the same,” he began playing with his glass, “you could lose them. Permanently, if you don't find a solution really soon.”

Percy felt his head going dizzy and had to blink a couple of times to find his balance again. “This must be a joke. This surely is a joke. I can't lose my powers. I couldn't visit dad's palace anymore, and couldn't kill monsters so easily and- oh Gods, there _must_ be a solution!” He grabbed Nico's wrist over the table. “Did Hades tell you anything else?!”

“Um, yes. But you won't like it.”

Percy raised an eyebrow, totally unamused. “You don't say?”

“Dad said...”, Nico tangled their fingers together, “he said that the least you could do is apologizing very convincingly. Like, a lot convincingly. Percy-”

“No.”

“ _Percy_. I know you did nothing and so on, but Eros is extremely full of himself and, well, conceited. Think of a scenographic way to apologize and he'll probably turn you into a boy again.” Nico praised him with his eyes, trying to recall his boyfriend to sanity. And to ignore the fact that his facial traits were now so gracious and delicate. Percy could compete with Aphrodite without any problem: as a girl, he was more beautiful than ever. “C'mon. I know you're proud and have a dignity and all that sass-thingy going on, but _please_.”

Percy stared at his dish with his famous scary look that so much resembled to his father's. “You're saying to humiliate myself enormously.”

“Yes.” Nico answered. “That would please Eros a real lot.”

Jason snorted. “Which is a great way to humiliate oneself in order to apologize to a self-centred god?”

“The way I would hate the most, probably.” Percy sighed in resignation, playing with his long hair distractedly. He had always wondered why a lot of girls – and boys with long hair, anyway - did that, and now he got it. It was calming in a certain weird way. “Any suggestions?”

Sally's voice made Jason startle. He had forgotten she was there. “What about you go on Olympus and apologize in front of everyone? Is it enough humiliating in your opinion?”

Percy blushed furiously, imagining himself in front of the Olympians on his knees, praying Eros to turn him into a boy again. He imagined the face of his father Poseidon, looking at him while he did that, and he felt ashamed almost immediately just by thinking about it. And that meant only one thing: it wasn't a bad idea at all. “It could actually work.”

“Yeah,” Nico said, “also because Eros knows how powerful you are and how you saved the Olympians' asses more than once. It would be a nice show for him to see you praying for his indulgence. ' _Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon and one of the most powerful demigods of our century is praying_ me _._ ' I can see that happening.”

Percy was smirking mischievously. “One of the most powerful demigods of our century?”

“Yeah, well!” Nico's cheeks flushed red in an instant. “It's true!”

“I'm flattered.” The son of Poseidon leaned closer to press a little kiss on his boyfriend's cheek, making him blushing even harder. “We'd better go to Camp Half-Blood and tell Chiron then, if we all agree that going on Olympus actually is a good idea. Also...”, he paled a bit, “the Legion is arriving in the evening, isn't it?”

Jason nodded, pouring some Coke in his glass. “Yup. Reyna Iris-messaged Annabeth yesterday to confirm it.”

“Damn. They don't know about... _this_.” Percy pointed at his chest, as if doing so could clear everything to everyone. In fact, Jason giggled seconds later. Nico limited himself to swallow the lump he felt in his throat since a couple of weeks.

“I'd really like to meet this famous praetor you're all talking about,” Sally crossed her arms on her chest, an amused spark brightening her eyes. “Reyna _this_ , Reyna _that_.”

Percy smirked. “She could kick anyone's ass.”

“Kill you in your sleep without waking you up,” Jason added.

“Rip your head off in one single move,” Percy continued.

Jason and Percy both sighed in awe.

“A beautiful person...”, Nico murmured to himself. “I really miss her. And Hazel, of course.”

Percy chuckled, while Sally sat next to the son of Hades at the table. “Hazel? Your sister?”, she smiled fondly.

Sally had been trying her best to get to know that boy better since the very first moment she got that her son had a huge crush on him. Percy wasn't exactly subtle when it came to flirts and crushes, but with Nico di Angelo... well, it had been different. If she had known for _ages_ that her son was in love with Annabeth Chase, on the other hand she hadn't ever imagined that he could have liked Nico di Angelo. Liking a boy wasn't absolutely a problem, but Percy had had a hard time in admitting it even to himself. The least she could do was to try and create a bond between her and the boy of her son's dreams, making Percy's life a lot easier by showing him she didn't care at all if he liked another boy.

Nico smiled back, a bit embarrassingly, and nodded. He wasn't used to Sally's attentions, yet. “Yeah. I haven't seen her in months. I... I bought her a present, too.”

“How sweet of yours,” Sally's smile grew even wider. “You're a caring type, aren't you? Don't expect this kind of romanticism from your boyfriend. He could forget about his own birthday.”

Percy rolled his eyes. “It happened _once_.”

Nico was chuckling. “Yeah... I know. But I don't actually care, as long as he's safe and alive. That's all I care about.”

“You're sweeter by the minute,” Sally stroked her hand on Nico's shoulder.

“Yeah,” Percy rolled his eyes again. “Too _much_ sweet. I've got diabetes. And by the way, I've bought you a present once. I am sweet myself, sometimes.”

Nico frowned in confusion, turning around to look at Percy directly in the eyes. He almost gasped when he remembered he was a girl. _Damn it_ , he kept forgetting about it. “Excuse me, but what present are you talking about?”

Percy was about to bring out that story about the stuffed hell-hound he bought on Amazon, but a sudden Iris-call distracted everyone in the room. He immediately accepted it, and Leo's face appeared in the middle of Sally Jackson's kitchen.

“Hey Sparky, I was- _wait_. Where in Hepaestus am I?” Leo tried to take a glimpse of the apartment. “What's this?”

Percy snapped his fingers twice to gain his attention. “Here. This is called _house_ , a place where people live. This one in particular belongs to my mother and step-father and, in the long term, to me. Got it?”

Leo smirked so widely at the sight of Percy – he hadn't even noticed the presence of someone else in the room – that Nico had to roll his eyes in exasperation. “Hey, _baby_. How you doing?” He winked mockingly. “Hey everyone! By the way, I was looking for Jason. Apparently, I just killed two birds with one stone! I had to look for Nico, too.”

Nico raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Why so?”

“The Legion is here! Reyna and Hazel both want to see you.” Leo's image trembled a bit. “They're early, but- _hey_! Put that down! Do not touch it! Have you heard me?!” Leo had turned around to look at his back so quickly that Nico felt confused for a few seconds. “I'm catching you on fire! That's it. Good girl,” he sighed, looking at Nico again. “ _Romans_... anyway, hurry up!”

Without saying another word, Leo interrupted the Iris-message.

Jason frowned. “I didn't like that tone. ' _Romans'_. What's wrong with us?”

Percy frowned even harder. “No one wants to see _me_? They're all thirsty for my boyfriend.”

Nico ignored their ravings and stood up quickly. “We gotta hurry. Take your stuff if you have any, and let's go.”

Percy took a deep breath and nodded, directing himself to his room – surely to grab the stuff his mom had bought for him. Jason limited himself to stand up and clean his glasses with the hem of his t-shirt.

“You're running?” Sally wore the cutest pout Nico had ever seen in his life. Now he got _things_ about his boyfriend. “Like, right now? It's dangerous! You're three powerful demigods walking together in one of the most crowded places on Earth. It's full of monsters! And... well, you're sons of the Big Three! Like, all of you! Isn't it super dangerous?! Don't go. You-”

“Mom,” Percy came back to the room with a backpack hanging from his left shoulder. He huffed a brief laugh. “We'll shadow-travel. Do not worry.”

Nico smiled at the woman, who still looked a bit concerned. “Yeah. Matter of a second, really. I also stopped fainting afterwards. It'll be fine. I can't do it very often, but-”

Sally's eyes widened in pure anxiety. “Fainting? What do you mean?”

Percy gave his boyfriend a quick look. _Are you serious?_ “He's kidding, mom. No one ever fainted during our quests.”

Jason snorted loudly, hiding the fact almost immediately by covering his mouth. “Sorry. I just sneezed.”

“Percy. I think you're hiding me some things which I really want-”

“Mom, sorry,” Percy kissed her on a cheek, “but we're seriously late. I still don't know how the Legion is going to react about me being a girl, so we'd better not lose any more time.”

The woman took a deep, calming breath. “All right. Be careful, all of you.” She caressed Percy's cheek fondly. Every single time he had to leave because of duty – being a demigod surely was hard -, she drowned in a sea of fears and doubts. Not to mention the fact that her son had recently been turned into a girl, and was apparently at risk of losing all his powers. “Call me from time to time. Update me.”

“Sure thing. I love you.” Percy smiled one last time for his mother, and then grabbed Nico's hand. Nico offered his other one to Jason.

The sons of the Big Three disappeared almost instantly, engulfed by the shadows. Sally sighed in resignation in the emptiness of her kitchen.

 


	2. A Few Awkward Situations

They appeared in the Aphrodite's Cabin, scaring the shit out of a couple of little girls who were trying to play cards on a bed.

Nico let go of both Jason and Percy's hands, frowning in confusion. “I didn't want to end up here! I clearly demanded to-”

“My fault,” Jason smiled sheepishly, “I kept thinking about how much I miss Piper. Sorry.”

Percy chuckled. “All fine. Let's go to the Big House. Hey, Katy! How are you?”

One of the little girls, the one called Katy, was staring at him in terror. “Who the heck are you?!”

“The most powerful demigod of our-”

Nico rolled his eyes with fond exasperation, grabbing Percy's arm and dragging him outside as he giggled uncontrollably. Jason followed seconds later. “You've got a thing for showing off, don't you?”

Percy shrugged while they walked shoulder against shoulder, directing themselves towards the big white and blue building. Part of the Legion was already planting their tents in the strawberry fields. “What can I tell you? I'm magnificent.”

Jason shook his head, snorting in amusement. “Agreed. Nice ass. Anyway, I hope Reyna's inside.”

“That makes two of us,” Nico replied, squinting his eyes and quickening his pace. Damn sun. He couldn't see a thing.

As soon as they reached the Big House's Deck, a loud noise of chatter reached their ears. A lot of people surely was inside the building, but it didn't sound like they were having fun. In fact, it sounded like they were arguing. Nico and Percy quickly glanced at each other, and Jason put their thoughts into words.

“Troubles.”

The boys – and the _girl_ – hurried up. Percy slammed the door open and entered the room, soon followed by Jason and Nico. Everyone went suddenly silent, turning their heads towards the trio who had just made its appearance - Backstreet Boy's style.

Spread over the ping-pong table's surface, a cemetery of potato chips and pop corns.

“... Holy _fuck_. You _are_ a girl!”

Nico frowned in surprise, turning his head towards the source of that voice. “ _Hazel_! Your mouth!”

The girl approached them with her eyes widened in shock, pushing a few demigods to a side to get them out of the way. The sword swung at her belt. As soon as she reached Percy, she studied his figure for a few seconds. Her eyes kept lingering from his feet to his eyes, and Nico couldn't really tell if she was shocked or amazed. Percy was staring back in embarrassment, gripping his backpack tighter in his fist.

Then, after a full minute of deep hush, the girl burst out laughing. “For everything there is in the Underworld, your boobs are _bigger_ than mine! This is not fair at all!”

Jason had to cover his mouth, while a few others in the room giggled as quietly as possible. Piper had reached him without being noticed, and the two were now holding hands.

Percy rolled his eyes. “Yes. And they're super soft. Wanna touch them?”

“Okay, demigods,” Chiron sighed exasperatedly, raising his hands to gain everyone's attention from his wheelchair. “Put yourself together, please. The reunion will begin now. Counsellors and praetors, take a seat.” Hazel glanced at him in concern. “... and Hazel Levesque, too.” The girl smiled, sitting next to Frank with deep satisfaction.

As everyone was composed again and sitting around the table, Chiron cleared his throat. “As you may have noticed, it has been two weeks already and Percy still has a few... _troubles_.”

Percy crossed his arms on his chest, laying against the backrest. “Understatement of the century.”

He tried to ignore the fact that Reyna was deeply staring at him from the other side of the table. The two were both sitting on each head of it.

“But I've been told that Nico had a chat with his father, the Lord of the Dead, which may or may not help us. What did you acknowledge, Nico?” Chiron was now looking at the son of Hades in seriousness.

Nico cleared his throat and stood up. The Gods knew how much he hated to be the centre of attention. “Um, first of all. I've got confirmation that Eros did this. For fun.” Clarisse La Rue chuckled, earning a killing gaze directly from Percy. “So, my suggestion is that Percy goes on Olympus to apologize. I suppose it would be humiliating enough to convince Eros in turning him into a boy again.” Chiron nodded slowly, finding the idea pretty good and encouraging Nico to keep talking. “Then... and that's the thing that worries me the most, Hades told me that Percy could lose all his powers. Permanently. So, I suggest he leads a quest as soon as possible to get on Olympus. _Quick_.”

“Why should we care?!” Clarisse opened her arms over the table's surface. “This is Jackson's problem. Not ours. He doesn't need a quest! He doesn't need any prophecy! Just get your ass on Olympus and solve this on your own!”

Percy widened his mouth in anger, leaning closer to the table. “You probably forgot about how many times I saved _your_ ass, young lady! Did you?! You're very supportive! You and your delicious father who doesn't even-”

“ _Percy_.” Chiron glared at Percy long enough to make him shutting up. He then gave his attention to Clarisse. “I'm sure Nico didn't mean ' _quest_ ' as we normally intend it. There's no need to contact Rachel Dare for this. And please, keep in mind we're a big family. Percy would help you, if you were in troubles. Wouldn't he?” Chiron knowingly looked at Percy, not expecting a _no_ as an answer.

“I guess.” Percy snorted angrily, crossing his arms on his chest again and staring at his glass of Coke in front of him. The liquid was shaking.

Chiron nodded, apparently satisfied by his answer. “So, please. I beg you to put your disagreements to a side. You'll have plenty of time to kick each others' _posteriors_ during the next match of Capture the Flag. Is it all right?”

Clarisse rolled her eyes. “Whatever. All right.”

“May I remind you that, if it weren't for Percy's help, you could have forgotten about your father's chariot? Ares wouldn't be _very_ pleased to hear about that episode in particular.” Percy quickly raised his head to look at Nico, who had just spoken. Clarisse was staring at his him in humiliation. “May I also suggest you get rid of your damn pride? You're not better than anyone else in this room. We're all equals, in the _end_.”

Percy sighed thoroughly and grabbed his wrist. “Love... it's all right.”

“No, it's not. Some _people_ here like to think they're superior. But we're all gonna die, someday. And death is the same for everyone. Keep it in mind.” Nico kindly freed his wrist from Percy's grip and sat down again.

A tense hush fell in the room.

“How is dad?” Hazel asked, smiling forcibly and making it look more natural as she could.

“Still a nightmare.”

Hazel nodded, not finding anything else to ask to her brother.

“Well!” Leo clapped his hands once, making Annabeth who was sitting next to him startling. “Along these _happy_ notes... who's going with the sexy chick on Olympus?”

Chiron nodded in agreement at the question, openly ignoring the sober epithet. “Any volunteers? It could be dangerous. Eros has all the intentions to ruin Percy's life, at the moment.”

“Me.”

Percy gasped when he heard at least five or six people saying ' _me_ ' at the same time. One of them, obviously enough, was Nico. He raised his hands, chuckling a bit, but deeply loving the fact that his friends were so supportive. “I love you, guys. I mean it. But we'd better be a group of three, as if it was a real quest.”

Annabeth crossed her arms on her chest. “We're gonna vote, then.”

“No, we're _not_. I'm going. End of discussion. The third person... well, Percy can decide among the people who wanted to come with us in the first place.” Nico stared at Annabeth, challenging her to debate his statement.

Percy scratched his chin pensively. “Honestly, I don't know. I don't want to offend anyone here...”

“The third person is me. We're a good match, bro.” Jason winked, smiling supportively at Percy.

Annabeth snorted in disagreement and raised her hands at everyone. “ _Wait_! Percy and I went to a lot of quests together. We're used to fight next to each other. Three sons of the Big Three together? Bad idea. Plus, Eros got mad at Nico more than once in the past. The safest we can reach is Percy, Jason and I.”

“Which means what, exactly?! I can watch Percy's back myself, you know,” Nico almost shouted. “Your point being?”

“Nico... I don't doubt of it. I'm just saying-”

“You're just saying I can't follow my boyfriend wherever I want, 'cause Annabeth Chase doesn't agree with it. 'Cause she's known Percy for ages and she's always annoyingly right. I _am_ going. End of discussion.” Nico banged his fists on the ping-pong table.

Percy's heart began beating fast. He wanted to kiss him so _badly_.

Annabeth took a deep breath. “You're not thinking clearly. Follow my reasoning. If you-”

“Wise Girl. He's coming. Don't argue with that.” Percy shivered as Annabeth glared at him intensely. She obviously didn't like that option. And she obviously didn't like to be interrupted. “And since Nico and you aren't the greatest match, apparently... I suppose Jason is the best choice we have.”

Nico's breath steadied again as Jason nodded next to him. No matter how many months had passed since Percy and Annabeth weren't together anymore; he still couldn't cope with Annabeth's protective attitude towards her ex-boyfriend. But now, it was Nico's turn to take care of him. It was about time she took a few steps back, leaving to Nico the place he deserved.

Chiron cleared his throat, gazing at Annabeth and silently suggesting her not to add anything else. Ah, _young love_. “It's decided, then. You guys can go pack: you're leaving tomorrow morning. Early. Tonight we're gonna have a big dinner to properly welcome our Roman friends. And now, the reunion is finished!” He clapped his hands twice, dismissing everyone.

Percy took an extremely deep breath, frowning in concern as everyone stood up and shook hands with Reyna, Frank and Hazel to greet them.

Leaving early for a deadly mission? How much he had _missed_ the same old habits.

** **

“And then, he turns around to look at me... and he passes out!” Everyone laughed at Leo's story. “Like this! Just faints. Priceless.”

Hazel stole a grape from Frank's dish, still giggling. “I wish I was there.”

“Stop. Guys, I'm serious! This is _not_ how it went. At all.” Jason sighed heavily, trying to ignore Piper next to him, talking behind his back and making sign to everyone that _yes, that was exactly how it went_.

Percy was trying to eat his watermelon without making a mess on his top while laughing. There was something weird about the way an Ares kid kept glancing at him every two seconds, all flustered and blushing. Maybe that top had been a hazard, that evening. He left his watermelon unfinished.

“How do you handle all this?”

Percy almost startled when he heard someone murmuring next to him. When he turned around, he noticed Reyna's dark eyes staring back in his intensely. There was no trace of mocking or disgust. She looked seriously concerned.

“I don't like watermelon that much. Don't worry.” Reyna rolled her eyes, and Percy laughed. “I'm slowly getting used to it,” he continued, Leo's chatter in the background. “It's a bit... well, I had no idea you girls have it so hard on a daily basis.”

Reyna frowned. “What do you mean?”

“All the harassment in the streets, the nicknames, the luxurious gazes you get. It's like constantly being on a screen. Men treat me differently. Any man. Even my _friends_. There's something about being a girl... it turns the world upside down.” Percy shrugged. “I've never felt so in danger.”

The young praetor huffed an unamused laugh. “Welcome to our world. We don't have cookies, but lower salaries and femicide.”

“I'll never understand this nonsense.”

Reyna smiled with gratitude. “And what about Nico?,” she added, lowering her tone of voice to be sure no one was going to eavesdrop their private conversation.

Percy's eyes darkened. “He's amazing. Really. But all this thing... it happened in the exact moment we were getting, well, _closer_. If you get it. He's weirded out. He has a hard time kissing me and acting natural in general.”

The girl sighed, crossing her arms over the table surface and staring at her dish pensively. “I get it. He loves you, obviously; you're _still_ Percy Jackson. But physically... he's _still_ very gay.”

Percy chuckled. “Definitely. I don't know much about sexual orientations and stuff. I don't know how they work, honestly. I just like who I like, boys or girls. But with Nico it's different. He's absolutely not attracted to girls and never has been. And never will be. On the other hand, I had.”

“Have you sat down and actually talked this over?” Reyna asked.

“There's no need to. I already know he's struggling. If Eros is not going to accept my apologizes... well, we'd better break up.” Percy sighed shakily. “I don't even care about my powers. That's the thing I'm mostly worried about. I love Nico with all my heart. Losing him...,” he rubbed his eyes with tiredness, finding out he was holding back tears. “Don't wanna think about it.”

They both glanced towards Nico on the other side of the table, gesticulating animatedly in a deep conversation with Frank. The praetor was nodding with concentration, taking a sip of whatever he was drinking every once in a while. Just for a moment, Percy wondered if he was talking about him. Then, Nico pulled something out of his pocket – a Mythomagic card deck – and Percy had to chuckle a bit. He began looking for a precise card, all the while still talking and agitating. Frank looked seriously entertained, peeking at every card Nico handled.

Reyna sighed with amusement. “Frank Zhang, the strongest son of Mars I've ever met. In the Legacy of Poseidon, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion and a Hero of Olympus. That's him. That's who I have to deal with every day. Being nerds Nico di Angelo, by far the scariest and most powerful boy who has ever entered Camp Jupiter's limits. After you, of course.”

Percy laughed louder at those words. “In my defence, I'm not scary. And I cannot tell you how much I love that dork of a boyfriend I have.” Reyna smiled, nodding in agreement. “I just really hope I'm not going to lose his love, someday.”

“You won't. You've never lost a battle, or a war. If there's someone who's not able to lose...”

Percy widened his eyes warily. “Do _not_ say it. Just don't. _Jeez_! Do you know how much bad luck it brings?! You've learned nothing!”

Reyna chuckled sincerely. “Okay, okay. Got it. Let's change subject. Do you have your backpack ready for tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Ambrosia, nectar, a change of clothes, a lighting bolt. I'm ready.”

“A lighting _what_?” Reyna frowned in deep confusion.

Percy rubbed his eyes, giggling at his own stupidity. “It's a joke. Long story short, I carried Zeus's Master Bolt around the country once.”

Reyna widened her mouth in shock. She had known Percy Jackson for a long while now, but she still kept discovering absurd things about him. Seriously, was there a thing Percy hadn't done? Reyna needed to know. “You're serious? How is it you're still alive and in the flesh to tell me about it?”

“Another long story short, Zeus spared my life and gave me the possibility to spend my days killing everyone who wanted to kill me.” Percy distractedly began playing with his long hair, a smirk never fading. “And now I'm a girl.”

“Walking on eggshells with your boyfriend.” Reyna nodded. “You're an incredibly lucky demigod, Jackson.”

“I know, right? Have you seen what happened with Annabeth and Nico this afternoon? Those are the things I live for.”

Reyna laughed with amusement, filling a glass of Soda to herself and to Percy. The group then moved to the campfire a couple of hours later.

As the evening soon became night, the younger campers went to their cabins to have a tight sleep. Percy and Reyna kept chatting for a while – Reyna taught the son of Poseidon how to braid his hair, to everyone's amusement –, but it was clear that the girl felt truly tired. They hugged one last time, and the Romans reached their tents.

Percy sat on a bench under the sky full of stars, looking at his boyfriend approaching him from the distance. There was something hypnotising about the way Nico's Stygian sword swung at his belt with his every movement. Something sexy _as hell_.

He had to clear his throat and tear his eyes off.

“Hey,” Nico finally reached him, sitting down next to him and panting slightly. He had probably been running from the strawberry fields.

“Hey. How are you so awake? I'm falling asleep standing.” Percy chuckled, distractedly caressing Nico's thigh with his palm.

Nico's cheeks flushed under the moonlight. “I'm a creature of the night.”

“What? Like a cat or something?”

Nico smiled, teasingly punching his arm. “Shut up.”

“Purr at me.”

“ _Shut_. _Up_.” Nico blushed once more, but he kept smiling anyway.

Percy took a deep breath, smiling back. He kept thinking about his conversation with Reyna. Did Nico and him need to talk things over? Probably. Was that the right moment? Probably not. “Are you, um, sleeping in my cabin tonight?”

Percy studied Nico's reaction for a while. At first, the son of Hades just limited himself to smile. As he turned to face him, Percy knew what was coming.

“With you being a girl, we're not allowed anymore. I mean... you know.” Nico chuckled forcedly, but Percy knew it wasn't simply a joke. It hurt a bit.

He decided to let the subject drop, ignoring the slight pain he felt in his chest. “Yeah... maybe you're right.”

Nico nodded sheepishly, staring at the grass at his feet. “I wish I could shadow-travel to Olympus. It would spare us a lot of troubles.”

“Don't worry. It's not so dangerous as it seems. It'll be-”

“ _Don't_ say it. Please.”

Percy chuckled. “You've learned, then.” Smiling charmingly, he offered Nico his hand.

The son of Hades took it hesitantly. “Percy. Listen. I'm trying my best, I swear.”

“What?” Percy frowned in confusion, trying to catch a glimpse of Nico's eyes through that mop of black hair that, now he knew, smelled of lavender. “It's not your fault you can't shadow-travel, love. Don't be so hard on yourself.”

Nico huffed a brief laugh, rolling his eyes at his boyfriend denseness. “Percy. I'm talking about... you know, _us_. I still was getting used to all the touching and stuff,” he blushed furiously, “and then this happened. I'm sorry, it's just so... weird.”

Percy swallowed the lump he felt in his throat, feeling the tension finally easing a bit. It was such a relief to know Nico had just taken the opportunity to talk about it without being forced to. He was still learning to respect Nico's rhythms and discretion, fearing to scare him and lose him. “It's fine. I have no intention whatsoever to adjust to this situation. I am _not_ a girl. I don't want to be a girl. I'll solve this.”

“Right.” Nico sighed heavily. “And your mom looks like you now, by the way.”

“I'm pretty sure _I_ look like her. You know, with her being my mother and all that genetic stuff going on.”

Nico raised his head and laughed. A sincere, loud and fragrant laugh. “Yeah. That genetic stuff. Gosh, you're so annoying. Just shut up.”

“The amount of times you've told me to shut up is worrying. I'm sure this is not how being a good boyfriend works!”

“Maybe you should ask yourself why I feel the urge to tell you on a daily basis.”

“On a minute basis.”

“Yeah. Same.”

Percy looked at Nico with a smirk, challenging him to add anything else. He didn't. “I love you.”

Nico smiled back. “I love you.”

“Let's go to sleep. Fancy the idea?” Percy stood up, wiping his jeans in the gesture. “Sounds like I've got a god to praise tomorrow.”

Nico nodded, standing up instants later. “Sounds like you're right.”

They reached the cabins' area hand in hand. Percy left a little kiss on Nico's cheek before splitting in different directions to reach their cabins. As soon as he closed the door of his cabin, he leaned his head against it. The sea breeze surely was being calming, but he couldn't help feeling a bit anxious about the following morning.

What if Eros wasn't going to be magnanimous with him? What if he was condemned to remain a girl forever?

Percy shook his head, trying to get rid of those thoughts. Over-thinking wasn't going to be constructive. Instead, he decided that sprawling on his bed was the only thing he could do, at the moment.

If it just wasn't for someone clearing his throat in the middle of the room, breaking the silence and making Percy startling in pure terror. He stood up quickly, a hand on his chest, and his breath got lost somewhere in the way to his mouth.

“... _Dad_?”

“My dear son. I'm sorry I scared you, but we need to talk.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be completely fair, I wanted to post earlier but - as you may have heard, I dunno - there has been a massive earthquake near where I live and I've been a bit zoned out. I couldn't concentrate on the mistakes and other stuff. But I am fine now!
> 
> Next update on Wednesday evening CEST!


	3. A Few Hard Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm really glad someone's taking the time to read this sequel. You're making me really happy.

Percy hadn't meant to get all that attention. People were screaming and pointing at him, and the moment he saw a police officer walking fast towards him, he just snorted loudly and grabbed Nico's arm. He started running as fast as he could.

Great. His mom was going to see him in the news that day, and he wasn't even surprised. Not even a bit. That wasn't the first time, after all.

“Where is Jason?!” Nico shouted as they ran without minding where they were heading to.

“Nowhere to be seen!”, Percy answered, wiping his forehead from the sweat with his sword in his other hand.

“We can't shadow-travel without him. And not with all this damn sun. Percy, put that thing away! People are staring at you!”

Percy frowned in confusion, then looked at Riptide in his hand. They hid behind a dumpster, and he cupped his sword. He was panting enormously when the police officer ran past them, a crowd of people at row. “Okay. I think we're safe.”

Nico cleared his throat, trying to catch his breath and checking the main street to actually be sure they were out of troubles. He turned to face his boyfriend. “You had to kill that thing in the middle of Times Square, hadn't you?! Gods! We were getting _this_ close to Olympus; now I have no idea where the fuck we ended up to!”

“Calm down. You see that building over there?” Percy pointed at a black building on the other side of the 53rd Street. “That's the Moma. We got just a bit too far. Not much.” _Also, now that I've talked with Poseidon last night, I'm not so anxious to reach Olympus anymore_. He decided not to add that last part.

“The what?”

Percy chuckled. “Moma. Acronym for Museum of Modern Art. Wow, that was a great run.”

“Since when you know words such as _acronym_? I'm impressed.”

“Do you wanna get tickets?”

Nico punched one of Percy's arms, making him chuckling even harder. “ _Shut up_. No. We have to find Jason. What was that monster, anyway?”

“I have no idea. But it told me several times I fought like a little girl. I _had_ to cut his head off, you see my point?”

The son of Hades rolled his eyes, but couldn't hold a smile. He began waving a hand at his face, trying to ease the hotness a bit. “Yeah. Okay. Now, let's focus on the important things. If you were Jason Grace, where would you hide?”

“I wouldn't!”

Percy and Nico both raised their heads to the sky, covering their eyes from the sun. Jason was gaily flying over their heads, licking an ice cream in total obliviousness.

“Where did you get that?! Why did you get just one?! Egoist prick!” Percy shouted at him. “Get down from there!”

Jason landed on his feet in the hidden street, licking his ice cream once more. “I stole it to a passer-by. He had just bought it.”

Percy frowned. “What flavour-”

“ _Guys_. Please. We've been in town for four hours and we've been attacked a million times, already. I think we should focus on reaching the Empire State Building without dying.” Nico glared at them in disappointment. “Think we can do it?”

Percy kissed him on a cheek, making him rolling his eyes. “You're cute when you get mad.” He wrapped his arms around him, and Nico blushed furiously. Percy winked at Jason, chuckling in victory.

Jason cracked a knowing smile. “C'mon. Let's walk. If you see a cop, hide your face please.”

Sadly, they didn't buy any ticket for the Moma. And Percy surely could have used a little diversion. Anything _but_ Olympus.

But honestly, did he have any other choice?

** **

The entrance of the Empire State Building was as packed as sardines. It was late afternoon at that point, but Percy couldn't focus much on how they had lost a whole afternoon trying to cross New York City. He had complained a few times about it, but as soon as he noticed that Nico was getting tired of it – or annoyed, anyway, 'cause Annabeth Chase had been right _again_ about the three of them going to places together -, he stopped doing so. Also, it was not like he sincerely minded being late.

The trio reached the security guard behind the counter.

Jason cleared his throat. “Three tickets to the 600th floor, please.” One could tell he was feeling a bit excited: he had never been on Olympus.

The man put his book down, totally unimpressed. “No such floor.”

Jason limited himself to stare at him. _Really_?

The guard smirked knowingly. “It's your fault, then, if we got so much troubles today. It looks like New York City just exploded.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. You don't even know who we are.” Jason put his hands on his hips, trying to set a tone.

“I know enough, son of Jupiter. And son of Hades. And daughter of- _wait_. I didn't know Poseidon had a daughter.” The security guard squinted at Percy, cracking an evil smile. “ _Interesting_.”

“He doesn't. She's... well, that's Percy Jackson. Can we have tickets to the 600th floor, _please_?” Jason insisted, getting slowly angry at that gossipy man.

“Why? You need an appointment to see Zeus.” The security guard crossed his arms. “And I'm extra sure you don't have any. No one would allow a son of Hades on Olympus. Let's not talk about a _Roman_. This is Greek territory.”

Nico planted the tip of his sword directly at the guard's throat, over the counter.

Jason didn't even remember registering a movement coming from him, and began sweating. He didn't want to deal with a murder, that day.

“Three tickets to the 600th floor. _Please_ ,” Nico hissed quietly, raising an eyebrow. He then slammed three drachmas on the counter. “And try not to swallow too _hard_ , if you don't want the cleaning agency to wipe your blood from the floor.”

The security guard took a brief look down at where the black sword disappeared from his sight, covered by his chin. “S-sure. Immediately.”

Nico drew his weapon away, hanging it at his belt again. “Thank you _a lot_.”

The man handed him three tickets, his hands shaking in fear. He did _not_ want to touch that boy. Not even by mistake. “Each one of you should just keep a ticket, and it'll disappear as soon as you get in the elevator. You'll be fine. Be really careful in pressing the right button... we don't want the elevator to stop in the middle of the sky. Don't we? It's a great bother, really. It happened once, and we had to-”

“Thank you.” Jason dryly smiled at him, suggesting him to shut up as soon as possible. “I can fly. No problem. Bye.”

The trio left the security guard with his mouth hanging open behind the counter, and reached the nearest elevator. Nico pressed the button to call it and they patiently waited for a bunch of seconds. As it arrived with a cheery _ding_ , Jason smirked and stretched his arm towards the opening doors.

He winked at Percy. “Ladies first.”

“Fuck you,” Percy answered rolling his eyes, but entering the elevator anyway. Jason soon followed, snickering without any shame.

Nico closed the little queue, stepping inside the small space and pressing the 600th button. He was trying really hard to take deep breaths since a couple of minutes, already. Not only that idiot of a security guard had made him mad beyond any level of human toleration, saying that _no one would allow a son of Hades on Olympus;_ but Nico was also trying to suppress the urge to kill said guard because of the look he had given to _Percy_. That unequivocal, lustful look which any boy seemed to be giving him since that damn girl- _thing_ had started. Nico was running out of patience.

Percy was undeniably beautiful, even as a girl, and that aura of great power coming from him hadn't dozed off of a bit. The result? Every idiot within 300 metres seemed to be _forced_ to notice him whenever he entered a place, making Nico the most jealous person ever existed on the damn Earth.

The trio stayed in hush for a moment. Percy kept re-working the conversation he had with his father the night before over and over again, growing more anxious by the minute. Every floor they passed meant another heartbeat to lose. Poseidon had looked really sure about his ideas. And honestly: did it happen very often to a god to be wrong?

“... is this _Stayin' Alive_?”

Percy's thoughts got interrupted. He listened to the music coming from the speakers and frowned in disgust. “Yes,” he answered to Nico.

Jason was moving his head to the rhythm, murmuring the lyrics to himself. “ _Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother, you're staying alive, staying a-”_ He turned around, noticing Nico and Percy's sceptical looks. “Okay. I'll shut up.”

Nico nodded in agreement.

Seconds later, the elevator stopped going up. Another cheery _ding_ , and the doors opened directly on Mount Olympus. Jason lost his breath.

“Holy Jupiter!”, he stepped outside, glancing around himself at the magnificent buildings and gardens. Under his feet, New York City. He covered his mouth with a hand. “ _Holy_ Jupiter!”

A thunder broke the calming atmosphere of the late afternoon. The birds stopped singing.

“Um, Jason? I think you should drop all this _holy dad_ thing you just started. We're _really_ close to him, you know.” Nico warily gazed at the sky, fearing another thunder at any moment.

Jason nodded, still in a trance. “You're probably right.”

“Probably.”

Percy snapped his fingers twice. “Guys. Someone's waiting for us, I think.” He then pointed at a human figure in the distance, arms crossed and head bent in waiting. “Yup. That's for us.”

Jason and Nico glanced at each other, a question falling quietly and unnoticed between them: _is that a good thing_? They approached Percy anyway, and they reached the unknown stranger on the other side of the big square. A young boy around thirteen years old had begun patting his foot on the ground and apparently losing all his patience; he was wearing a short white chiton with sandals.

But as they found out seconds later, the boy wasn't being impatient. He was being _super-duper_ _excited_. He smiled so widely that Nico immediately decided he hated him. “Hi! I'm Ianthe. At your service. I've been told I have to escort you to the Hall of the Gods. You're demigods, right? _So cool_!” He made a little jump.

Nico frowned even harder. “Isn't Ianthe a girl name?” He hated him more by the minute.

Ianthe temporarily lost his smile to make place to a deep confusion. “I honestly don't have any idea.” He shook his head, his smile quickly back at its place. “Who's your godly parent? You know, I've been to Apollo's service for at least-”

“Apollo's service? You work for Apollo?” Percy asked in pity. _Poor boy._ Was that a job for the eternity? _Poor, miserable boy_.

“Ah-ah!” Ianthe nodded gaily. Jason started wondering whether he'd been drinking too much Kool-Aid. That boy looked like a mixture of Leo Valdez and Dakota, a centurion of the Fifth Cohort, after a full week without sleeping. “It's been a few hundreds years now, not much.”

Percy paled. He couldn't even imagine what it meant to work for Apollo for a _day_ , let's not mention a few _centuries_. _Poor, miserable, unfortunate boy_. “Um, Ianthe. The Hall of the Gods, you said?”

“Oh! Yes, absolutely! Everyone's waiting for you! There even are Gods who don't usually show up very often on Olympus. You three should be famous! Am I right? Are you famous? Who's your godly parent?” Ianthe's eyes sparkled with hope towards Percy.

“Let's go, Ianthe. Escort us inside. You'll find out.” Percy patted him on a shoulder.

Ianthe clapped his hands. “This is _so_ cool! Follow me!”

The trio let Ianthe lead them a few metres away from them. He was _hopping_ on the way to the Hall of the Gods.

Percy chuckled a bit. “He reminds me of-”

“Don't you even _dare_ say that. I'm serious. Don't.” Nico pointed his finger at him, a warning in his eyes.

Jason smiled cautiously. “What? Say what?”

“Well-”

“Perseus Jackson. _Shut up_. You still want a boyfriend?” Nico raised his eyebrows, challenging Percy to add anything.

Percy bit his lower lip, giggling to himself. “Yes. Okay. I'll shut up.” He took his hand in his. “So you _did_ notice.”

Nico glared at him. “I told you to shut up.”

“All right, fine. Shutting up I can do.” He winked at his boyfriend, who rolled his eyes with fond exasperation.

Jason was right next to them, frowning in confusion. He looked clearly lost. “What are you two talking about?”

“Nothing,” Percy and Nico answered at unison, just to smile at each other seconds later.

Jason snorted over-dramatically. “Oookay. It's a secret. Got it. Hey, Ianthe, are we there yet?,” he added, raising his voice a bit.

The boy turned around to smile at them. “Are you blind?! We're heading towards the highest building of Olympus. Can't you see it?! It's right in front of us!”

Percy snorted loudly, trying not to laugh.

Jason blushed almost imperceptibly. “Of course I can see it... I was just- nevermind.”

“These columns have been rebuilt just a couple of years ago,” Ianthe began, “ and they're more beautiful than they were before! The architect has been-”

“Annabeth Chase, yes. We know her.” Nico said.

Ianthe's eyes brightened like a couple of stars in the night. “You _know_ Annabeth Chase?! This is. _So_. Cool!” And just when Nico was about to answer him, Ianthe stopped walking. “Here we are. Okay. Remember to be respectful, don't look at any god in the eyes if you're not asked to, and-”

Percy rolled his eyes and kindly pushed Ianthe to a side. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” He pushed the huge doors in front of him open, entering the Hall of the Gods like he was meant to be there.

Hall which was as packed as the Empire State Building's entrance.

Everyone went silent.

“Percy Jackson.” A beautiful man with blond hair and a captivating smile crossed his legs on his throne, winking at Percy as if it was the most natural thing to do. “How is it that you're nicer as a girl? Great job, Eros. And my brother, Jason Grace! How you doing? And you are... Nico di Angelo? Am I right? You've grown up!”

Ianthe gasped so loudly that Percy got distracted for a moment. “ _Brother_?! So cool!”

The god frowned in confusion and waved his hand at Ianthe, like he was trying to get rid of an annoying mosquito. “Go away, darling.”

The boy nodded quickly, bowing at the god with respect. “Yes, my lord Apollo.” He then disappeared down a corridor, nowhere to be seen.

Nico wanted to sigh in relief, but contained himself instead. _He reminds me of you_ , that was what Percy had wanted to say.

Percy cleared his throat. “Apollo. Thanks for your, um, _warm_ welcome. I'm here to greet all of you and, um, talk to Eros maybe?”

Zeus was staring at him intensely, and Percy felt a weird hotness on the top of his head. Was the King of Olympus trying to make him exploding? “Talk to him about what, exactly?”

A few gods in the room giggled, and Percy saw a couple of them exchanging money. Someone had lost a bet, apparently. “Lord Zeus... I'd like to apologize for... um, for whatever I did to offend Eros.” He coughed slightly as he sat on his knees in front of everyone. “I'm praying for his forgiveness at the presence of all the gods of Olympus. Or... well, a great part of them.”

Zeus raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. He then turned his head to a side, where his brother was sitting next to him. Poseidon took a deep breath. “Son,” more giggles, “I warned you about this. Are you sure about what you want to ask?”

Nico and Jason frowned in confusion, glancing at each other behind Percy's back. Warned him about _what_?

But Percy's straight face didn't falter. “Yes, father. I'm sure. If that's the only way to have my right body back, I'm willing to lose all my powers. Renounce to my godly blood. Become a normal mortal. Forever. And never be able to set foot in Camp Half-Blood or New Rome again.”

Nico held his breath. He was ready to shout at him, but Jason gripped his wrist.

Poseidon frowned in worry. He looked sincerely sorry. “We've all tried to convince Eros to change his conditions – well, some of us tried _harder_ than others,” he quickly glanced at Ares with disappointment, “but he doesn't-”

“You know, Poseidon. I think I've changed my mind.”

Percy startled as a familiar voice reached his ears. Everyone turned their heads towards the left side of the room, where Eros had just appeared with all his beauty. The god still looked like Percy remembered him: gorgeous, long black hair, an elegant suit covering his body.

The son of Poseidon had to exhale slowly to calm down. He didn't want to admit it, but he feared Eros more than he feared Zeus. “Lord Eros. I'm g-glad you've shown up. It's an honour and- and a pleasure. Thank you.”

Eros blinked. If he was deeply satisfied by the fact that Percy Jackson was praying him of all gods, he didn't show it. “I was passing by.” Some gods chuckled, some others exchanged more money. “By the way, I have another proposition for you, if you're willing to listen.”

“Yes! I mean,” Percy cleared his throat, “yes, lord Eros. Sure.”

“Very good.” Eros approached him, and stopped walking right in front of Percy, giving his back to almost everyone. He didn't give any sign to Percy that he could have stood up. “I will turn you into a boy again, young demigod. With all your powers, your godly blood, and all that other things you care so much about. At one condition.”

 _There we are_ , Percy thought, _let's hear this absurd proposition_.

But Eros stopped looking down at him. He raised his look behind Percy's back, where Jason and Nico were. The god smiled knowingly. “Di Angelo. I've seen your hopes and dreams. I've read your fears. I _know_ your heart. Would you let Percy Jackson be a boy again, a powerful demigod, a Hero of Olympus, if that meant giving up on the person you love? Forever.”

Percy paled. Nico's legs went weak. “Lord Eros...?”, the son of Hades asked, trying to figure out if that was the nightmare he had been experiencing since a couple of weeks or if it was reality.

“You heard me. This is it. Your fears coming true. Are you strong enough to face them?”

A tear crossed Nico's cheek, and his eyes lingered down at where Percy was. And at where he knew Percy was about to either renounce to everything he had fought for, or renounce to him. Either way, it was horrible. He thought about all the sacrifices, all the battles, all the tears Percy had gone through. He thought about Tartarus and his mom, Sally Jackson, waiting for him for months, wondering where her son was.

No. Percy hadn't fought that much for all his wars to be meaningless.

Nico wasn't going to deny him the happiness he deserved in New Rome. He didn't want to be the reason Percy had to give up on his future as a demigod in a place he could live safely. He didn't feel _so_ important. Percy could have felt his heart breaking if he was going to agree to that, but he could have survived through it. If there was someone capable of anything, said someone was him.

He kept staring at Percy's back, seeing his shoulders going up and down as Percy's breath grew shorter for the anxiety. Nico felt his cheeks burning under his tears. “Yes. I am strong enough.”

Percy's eyes widened as he stood up immediately, without even thinking about it. When he turned around, Nico could read all the shock in his eyes. “Are you _mad_?! No! You're not going to say yes to this!” He turned to face Eros again. “I don't care. Take my powers away from me, my blood, my belonging to Camp Half-Blood. Take my future in New Rome. But make me a boy again. I won't renounce to Nico. _Ever_ in my damn life. I don't mind.”

Eros raised an eyebrow at him. He wasn't expecting anything of what had just happened. Well, he had expected Nico to say yes to his proposition. But Percy Jackson, the most powerful demigod, renouncing to everything he had been fighting for the past years? That had come completely out of the blue. “You don't _mind_?”

Percy shook his head. “Not even a bit.”

“Good.” Eros smiled evilly. Difficult love stories were his favourite kind of love stories. “As you want.”

“ _No_!” Nico screamed, trying to jump on the god before he could have done anything, but Jason grabbed his arm promptly. He turned around, glaring at the son of Jupiter with fury. “Let go of me! _Now_!”

“Nico, you can't just-”

“He's right,” Percy approached Nico, cupping his cheek with a hand and wiping a tear away with his thumb. “You are all I want. All I need. I don't mind, as long as you're with me. Don't you get it?”

Nico cried harder at that. “But your powers, your _fights_ , Percy you can't renounce to all this! You're a son of Poseidon, you're powerful! You saved the world! Don't _you_ get it?!”

Percy's eyes filled with tears. And then he shook his head slightly, smiling at the love of his life profoundly. “No. My pride as a demigod is not even a bit important to me, compared to you.”

Jason let go of Nico's wrist when he felt he had stopped struggling. Nico had also stopped crying, looking at Percy in the eyes intensely. “Camp Half-Blood-”

“It's just a place. Wherever _you_ are; that's the place I'd rather be.” Percy took Nico's hand in his. “I decided. I chose.” He then turned around to look at Eros. “Whenever you want, lord Eros.”

Poseidon stood up from his throne. “Percy, I've never been this proud. Your mother surely did a great work with you. Now, Eros, if you don't mind... could you give my son the treatment he deserves?”

Eros smiled dryly at Percy. “Right away. Percy Jackson, your hand. As soon as I'll be done, you'll be out of Olympus. This is the last time you'll be able to see it.” He stretched his arm forward, offering his hand to him.

“Percy...” Nico murmured, letting go of Percy's hand.

The son of Poseidon gave him the warmest smile, then turned around to face Eros. He gave him his hand. “I'm ready.”

Eros took a deep breath. Percy frowned, closing his eyes and waiting for whatever was about to happen.

“ _Wait_.”

Percy widened his eyes again, feeling he was still a girl, and looking behind the god's back. A woman with long, curly brown hair had stood up, her hands on her hips over the long pink chiton. She looked totally pissed.

“Are you _serious_?!”, the woman began. “After that huge demonstration of passion, devotion and- _by the name of love_ , I didn't raise you to be _that_ stupid, Eros!”

The god let go of Percy's hand and turned around to look at the woman. He rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Mother Aphrodite, _please_. This is _my_ business. Stay out of it.”

Aphrodite crossed her arms. “Your business, you said?” She chuckled gaily. “I've been messing with this boy's love life since he was twelve years old. Percy Jackson _is_ my business. And I think he deserves to get his sex back, without any irrelevant condition. Did we hear the same affectionate speech?”

Eros snorted loudly. “This has nothing to do with you, anyway! This kid is sassy, annoying and full of himself. And I can't stand him. He needs discipline and to learn respect. Did we all forget about that time he sent us Medusa's head?! Are we allowing such things on Olympus?!”

A woman on the right side of the Hall chuckled, covering her mouth instants later. She had an Imperial Gold helmet laying at her feet and a tiny owl which was resting on her shoulder. Hermes quickly glanced at her in confusion.

“Oh, please. That's such an old story!” Aphrodite answered to her son. “Turn this demigod into a man again and leave his powers where they are. I'm starving, I think it's time to have dinner.” Some gods began murmuring and nodding at each other. Percy heard at least a couple of ' _she's right_ '.

Eros widened his mouth in disbelief. “ _What_?! Lord Zeus!”

Zeus crossed his arms on his chest. Percy didn't remember having seen him so bored in his life. “Eros, do what you are told by your mother. Family is the most important thing we have.”

Hera, who was sitting at his left, smiled charmingly at those words.

Percy couldn't believe his luck. He looked at Eros as he turned around, rolled his eyes in pure anger and then snapped his fingers. Suddenly, Percy couldn't breathe properly. He grabbed his own neck, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. “Lord Eros, what did you-”, he widened his eyes in shock. “ _My voice_! My _guy_ voice! Why can't I breathe?!”

Jason cleared his throat and pointed at his friend's shirt. “Percy... I think you're still wearing a bra.”

Percy frowned, letting go of his neck. “Oh.”

“ _Another_ thing!” Aphrodite glared at Eros. “You're done messing with these boys' lives. Clear enough? It is funny, I have to admit, but it's getting repetitive. Promise, son.”

Eros sighed. “I promise, mother.”

From the back of the room, Nico cleared his throat over-dramatically.

Eros sighed even harder. “I promise _on River Styx_.”

A thunder echoed in the building, and Nico smiled with satisfaction.

Zeus stood up and opened his arms towards everyone in the room. “All's well that ends well. Now, Percy Jackson, it would be extremely nice not to see you for a very long while. I'm getting tired of your face. And, son?”

Jason's head jerked so quickly towards the King of Olympus that he felt actual pain in his neck. He swallowed hard. “Father?”

“It's nice to see you, from time to time.”

Percy chuckled and glanced at Jason, all the while caressing Nico's head which was leaning against his chest. The boy had jumped on him seconds earlier, crying loudly and gripping at his shirt with need. His eyes were nowhere to be seen, his face being buried in the son of Poseidon's chest. His manly, muscular and not anymore super-soft chest.

Nico raised his head to smile at Percy. And, as they kissed deeply and shamelessly, they didn't even notice the Hall had emptied. Jason was nowhere to be seen.

They separated with a wet sound. Nico was smiling. “You risked that much for me?”

“I'd risk the whole world for you.”

The son of Hades was about to respond to that, tears filling his eyes once more that day, but a tiny figure coughed in the distance. They turned around, both frowning in confusion. Who the hell was interrupting them?

Ianthe smiled widely. “Sorry, guys – weren't you a girl, anyway? -, but you have to leave. The cleaning agency slaughters whoever is found in the Hall of the Gods after 7 pm.”

Percy's mouth widened in shock. “A _cleaning_ agency? On Olympus?”

“Why should they kill us?” Nico crossed his arms on his chest.

Ianthe smiled even wider. “Why not?”

The boys paled, glancing at each other with a thought falling silently between them. _We'd better leave, uh?_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was the last chapter of this tiny sequel! I'll post a short epilogue on Saturday evening CEST.
> 
> Thank you all for reading it <3 It means a lot!


	4. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the fluffiest thing I've ever written. Beware.

Percy woke up at the sound of a bird singing on the windowsill. He smiled warmly, snuggling closer to Nico, who was laying with his back right against his chest and snoring almost imperceptibly. It took him a while to realise they were both completely naked.

Smiling even wider, Percy felt his heart like it was about to explode.

Nico's figure moved against him. Percy watched as the boy sat up on the mattress, rubbed his eyes yawning enormously, and then grabbed a drachma from Percy's night-stand. He threw the object across the room.

“ _Gods_ , shut up!”

The bird flew away chirping in terror, soaring towards the sky. Nico snorted, laying down again.

Percy was chuckling uncontrollably. “You're a horrible person.”

“That damn thing woke me up.”

“It was a _bird_. It was cute. And yellow.” Percy stroked Nico's hair with deep affection.

Nico frowned, his eyes closed again and his face buried in Percy's chest. “Tiny bastard. It's _fucking_ early.”

Percy giggled harder at those words. “It's 11 am!”

“Still.”

“We should get up,” Percy sighed, letting go of Nico and stretching his back, “I'm hungry as hell.”

“We should sleep in my cabin. No bird lays on my windowsill. Damn tiny bastards.”

“Of course they don't. Your cabin looks like a giant coffin. I won't sleep in there. _Ever_.” He sat up on the mattress, rummaging between the blankets to find his underwear. “Plus, everything is so... _black_.”

Nico rubbed his eyes once more, sitting up in resignation to the fact they were done sleeping for that morning. “Be really careful on what you say about my cabin. I personally designed it after the war against Gaia. And you're _not_ in the position to critic any of my choices, not after _tonight_.”

Percy laughed gaily, making a small jump to get in his jeans. “Why? 'Cause you're not _uncorrupted_ because of me, anymore?”

Nico blushed heavily, but smiled anyway. “Yes. Exactly.”

Percy's face appeared again as he wore a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. He was smirking mischievously. Well, more than usual. “We had a bit of sex, not a big deal. Really.”

Nico crossed his arms, still sitting on the mattress and being partially covered by the sheets. “You took my virginity. It _is_ a big deal.”

“ _Woops_. It won't happen again. I promise.”

Nico chuckled and threw a pillow at him. “Gods! You _never_ shut up!”

Percy dodged it, and then put a hand on his chest. “You tried to _hit_ me?! With my favourite pillow shaped as a starfish?! How _dare_ you!”

Nico rolled his eyes, standing up on the other side of the bed and wearing his black boxers. “You'd deserve that.”

“You can't hit me with things shaped as... ocean stuff. It's a rule for Poseidon's children. Illegal.”

“Percy,” Nico turned around and chuckled in disbelief. Why was his boyfriend so damn silly, anyway? “ _Everything_ in this room is shaped as 'ocean stuff', as you call it. Your _damn_ chair is a giant shell.”

“Bought it on Amazon. It's super cool, isn't it?!”

Nico rubbed his eyes and laughed again. “Whatever. Can we drop this conversation? I'm sorry I tried to hit you, okay?”

Percy pretended to be thinking about it, for a while. Then just shrugged. “All right, fine. Let's have a bath and I'll forget about it.”

Nico licked his lips pensively. “You mean, together?”

“I mean what I mean.”

“Percy,” Nico giggled. “ _Please_. You're gonna make some stupid game with the water and trap me into a bubble or something, like I don't know you. We're washing separately.”

“Okay. That's it. We're breaking up. We're done.” Percy crossed his arms, directing to the bathroom and kicking the door open. “Let me alone with my feelings.”

Nico rolled his eyes in fond exasperation. “Why am I even dating you? _All right_.”

“Haven't you heard me? You're not.”

“I just said all right. To the bath. Together.” Nico grabbed his t-shirt and reached Percy in the bathroom, who was already filling the bathtub with hot water, snickering to himself. He smiled. “It is not fair you're the only one at camp allowed to own a bathtub, by the way.”

“Well, you're dating me, why should you care? Get naked, we're getting in.” Percy frowned. “Why did I even wear clothes in the first place?”

Nico chuckled, getting rid of his underwear and entering the bathtub. The water was warm and smelled of cotton candy. He leaned his head on the nearest edge, closing his eyes and smiling dumbly in total relax. When he felt Percy sneaking next to him and wrapping an arm around his shoulders, he smiled even wider.

Percy pressed a little kiss on his temple. “I love you.”

“Weren't you hungry?”

“Shut up and tell me you love me.”

Nico opened his eyes, and tried not to gasp when he noticed that Percy's face was incredibly close to his. “I love you.”

Percy smiled. “That's more like it.”

“Percy?”

“Yes?”

“Did you just trap my legs in a bubble?”

“No.”

Nico raised an eyebrow at him, totally unimpressed. “Percy, are you lying?”

“Who knows.”

They chuckled fondly at each other. And then, just as Nico pressed their lips together, Percy dragged him underwater. They didn't emerge, for a while.

FINE

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to take a moment to thank everybody who read this :) It's not much as a mini fic, I know, but you've all been very nice!
> 
> See you with the next one :D

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly? Hide my keyboard. That's all I have to say.
> 
> [tumblr](http://fedegreen-author.tumblr.com/)


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